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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Breaking News: Chad And Rob To Retire From Nearfest

NEARFEST PRESS RELEASEJanuary 12, 2008Chad and Rob to retire after 10 years of NEARfestNEARfest co-founders Chad Hutchinson and Rob LaDuca announce theirretirement from the festival organization after this year's 10thanniversary NEARfest X celebration, largely due to significantlyincreased family and professional obligations. Arrangements are wellunderway to transfer the entire non-profit festival organization andits crucial diverse band selection ethic into the capable hands ofothers already well-established in the progressive rock community. Itis certain that NEARfest "Mark II" will have the same wide spread ofprog rock subgenres as always.Rob states, "It's been a pleasure bringing the best in progressiveand eclectic music to the NEARfest audience for ten long (or is thatshort?!) years. The demands of single fatherhood and my academicposition at Michigan State have left little time for NEARfest overthe past couple of years. My time to investigate the torrent of newreleases in all prog subgenres has evaporated, and in what littlemusic-listening time that sporadically presents itself, I've beenconsistently reaching for old favorites. I feel that all of theNEARfests have had stresses and joys, and they all have left anindelible mark; I'll never forget any of them or the many peopleinvolved... artists, volunteers, and audience alike. However now Ifind it's definitely time to focus my energies more closely on mychildren as they enter their teenage years, and secondarily on myteaching and research career."Chad says, "It has been a great ride and it is very hard to believethat it's been 10 years already. In that time, I've not only gottenmarried to Cheryl, but now have two wonderful little boys, Liam andCameron. The years running NEARfest have been pretty amazing. Lookingback on it, I'm still in a bit of disbelief when I think that we'vehosted the likes of Keith Emerson, Steve Hackett, Camel, Banco and,this year, Peter Hammill on our stage, not to mention being part ofthe the reformations of Anglagard, Happy the Man, Nektar, FM andDiscipline. I am realizing how many wonderful people we have come incontact with over our tenure, from the musicians, the crew, theZoellner staff, the local businesses... to Roger Dean, Paul Whiteheadand Mark Wilkinson... to of course all the people who have supportedthe festival by buying tickets year after year. We've had a lot offun and learned a lot in 10 years, and with that, when to refocus andconcentrate on other parts of our lives, like our families and our careers."Though we are both leaving our official posts with NEARfest, Rob andI will provide whatever assistance we can as the festival movesforward. An announcement will be made in the coming months withregard to the new organizers."Thank you to all of the musicians, festival staff, and attendees forall of the wonderful memories over the past 10 years. We will see youin June... one more time.http://nearfest.com